A group of armed insurgents launched an attack on a micro finance bank in northern Parwan province of Afghanistan, local officials said Saturday.

The incident took place in Charikar city, the provincial capital of northern Parwan province late on Friday night.

Provincial police chief Mohammad Zaman Mamozai said the gunmen were armed with rocket launchers and small arms when they launched attack on the bank building.

Mamozai futher added that the branch belonged to First MicroFinance Bank Afghanistan which is part of the Aga Khan Development Network (ADKN).

He said the attack did not cause any casualties but the property of the bank sustained damages due to rocket and bullets impact.
No group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed responsibility behind the attack.

Parwan is among the relatively volatile provinces in northern Afghanistan where anti-government armed militant groups are actively operating in its remote districts and often carry out insurgency activities.

#9
Penny banks because a penny saved is a penny earned. Over time those pennies add up to dollars. We're not talking about the Hamptons here. It can make a difference. But if they're making loans to women that would, of course, be unIslamic.

Community elders have mediated to release two hostages from the custody of Taliban militants in southeastern Ghazni province.

The two civilians spent several days in Taliban captivity before they were released and reunited with their families yesterday.

Fahim Amiree, spokesperson for the police headquarters of Ghazni said the two civilians were dragged out of the vehicles in the jurisdiction of Qarabagh District while on their way from Jaghori District to the province capital.

Taliban then took them to an undisclosed location but community elders mediated and secured their release.
They are residents of Jaghori District.

Ghazni has been the scene of several cases of abduction in recent months. About three months before militants kidnapped seven civilians including a child, two women and four men from Ghazni’s Gilan District and later their decapitated bodies were recovered in Khak-e-Afghan District of southern Zabul province.

The Afghan national security forces thwarted a rocket attack plot on Kabul city by discovering four BM-1 rockets from the outskirts of the city.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the rockets were discovered by the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces from the Musahi district of Kabul.

A statement by MoD said the rockets were planted in Qala-e-Abdul Rauf area of Musahi district and were ready to launched on Kabul city.

The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the attack plot so far which comes amid deteriorating security situation with the rampant Taliban-led insurgency.

The attack has been thwarted as Kabul witnessed a spate of deadly suicide attacks during the recent weeks.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for three separate suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIED) attacks in the Afghan capital between 1 and 4 January, killing five civilians and injuring at least 56.

“The use of highly explosive devices in civilian populated areas continues to cause extreme harm to Afghan women, children and men,” said Mark Bowden, the Deputy Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and acting head of UNAMA.

Bowden further added “Loss of life, maiming, destruction of homes, businesses and personal property and widespread fear – these are the real consequences of suicide attacks in urban areas.”

At least four Afghan policemen have lost their lives in a suspected insider attack in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.
The incident has reportedly taken place in Khakriz district of Kandahar province in a check post of belonging to the police forces.

Provincial governor spokesman Samim Khpolwak confirmed that an incident has taken place in a police check post but there are no further details available regarding the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.

Meanwhile, a local security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the attack was carried out by a group of individuals in police uniform.

The official further added that a commander of the police forces was also among those martyred in the attack and the assailants have managed to escape the area.

Kandahar is among the relatively volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where anti-government armed militant groups are actively operating and frequently carry out insurgency activities.

This comes as the Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant during the recent weeks despite efforts to revive the Afghan peace talks in a bid to end the growing violence in the country.

40 Taliban militants have surrendered to Afghan forces in Darqad District of northern Takhar province, the Ministry of Interior announced on Saturday.

“In an Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) joint clearance operation, 40 armed militants surrendered to ANSF in Darqad district of northern Takhar province,” states a statement released by the ministry.

“The operation started on 09 January 2016 and is still in progress to clear some of the areas of terrorists and enemies of peace and stability.”

According to the press release, 20 militants were also killed in fresh clashes and 12 arrested.

So far, 52 villages have been cleared of armed militants, the press release adds.

Darqad a strategic district of Takhar was under Taliban control for about three months. Afghan National Security and Defense Forces retook control of it last week.

Takhar is among the relatively volatile provinces in northeastern Afghanistan where anti-government armed militants are actively operating in a number of its remote districts.

Takhar is surrounded by two relatively volatile provinces, Badakhshan in the east and Kunduz in the west where Taliban militants are actively operating and frequently carry out insurgency activities in their various districts.

[Tolo News] The Talibs have captured several villages in Gereshk district of southern Helmand...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province.

Muhammad Karim Atal, the chairman of Helmand Provincial Council, said: "We witnessed the collapse of a village in Gereshk two days ago. Unfortunately, Adam Khan village also fell to the Taliban last night."

He said at least 14 Afghan troops have been killed and nine others maimed.

Local residents voiced their concerns that prolonging the war in Gereshk will lead to civilian casualties.

"We are concerned about prolonging the war and the Taliban have captured several villages during the fighting," said Muhammad Khan, a resident of Gereshk district.

The Provincial Police Chief, Abdul Rahman Sarjang, however, said Afghan forces have the upper hand in the fighting. He added that 20 hard boyz have been killed and 15 others injured.

"Our forces at a checkpoint in Adam Khan village fought for five days, after that their equipment was finished, they tactically retreated 1.5 kilometers back and now we are on the defensive," he said, adding the Taliban have sustained heavy casualties in the fighting.

The fighting between Afghan cops and the Talibs started around six days ago, when a large group of Taliban hard boyz attacked several areas of the province and captured several villages.

[Tolo News] Scores of gunnies related to Zahir Qadir, the Deputy Speaker of Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament), on Saturday joined public uprising groups in eastern NangarharThe unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province.

Security officials in eastern Nangarhar province said that the gunnies will cooperate with Afghan cops in the fight against Death Eaters in Nazian and Achin districts in the province.

Nangarhar Police Chief Fazel Ahmad Sherzad said that he appreciates Qadir, because hundreds of his people, under the framework of public uprising, are fighting alongside Afghan cops and are playing an important role in ensuring security of the province.

"These people have their own weapons, but we will see if they need anything, so that we provide for them," said General Dad Muhammad Harifi, Nangarhar National Security Director.

Meanwhile,...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a hurried meeting of his closest advisors. It was to be his last. They discussed the officers's efficiency rating system... members of the High Peace Council (HPC) and tribal elders lent their support to Afghan troops and public uprising forces.

Malek Nazir, a member of the peace council of Nangarhar, urged government not to prosecute these gunnies, because they were fighting to ensure security of Nangarhar and killings and beheadings are part of war.

The public uprising members vowed that they will fight till the last drop of their blood to defend their country.

These gunnies joined public uprising groups at a time that Daesh [Islamic State]Death Eaters have intensified their activities in Nangarhar, particularly Nazian district.

Benghazi was once again quiet this afternoon and evening following intermittent explosions this morning in Ard Zwawa district. A number of buildings as well as vehicles were said to have been hit, but there are no reports of any casualties. There was also missile fire in Leithi, although again no one is said to have been hurt.

Yesterday, the Libyan National Army shot down a camera-mounted miniature drone aircraft which it claimed was being used by Ansar Al-Sharia to survey its positions near Garyounis. At the same time the air force targeted Ansar positions in Gwarsha and at Mreisa port.

Also yesterday, a number of missiles also landed in Sidi Yunis district, once again with no reports of casualties. However, in Buhdeima on Friday, a young girl was reported killed in a random rocket attack.

Egyptians? But definitely not the Israelis, so we've narrowed it down.

There is still no clear idea of whose warplanes have twice attacked IS positions in Sirte in the last six days. Neither the government in Beida nor the Libya Dawn administration in Tripoli has claimed responsibility.

Yesterday’s night raid by two aircraft is reported to have targeted buildings on the edge of the town, in the Al-Sabiha and Dahira districts. One site that was hit is said to have been a weapons store. A picture [above], purportedly taken some time today, shows black smoke billowing from a point which is hidden by other buildings.

Locals have said that they heard the sound of aircraft yesterday afternoon, which attracted ground fire from IS. Last Sunday, unidentified warplanes attacked a terrorist convoy, supposedly inflicting heavy casualties. Neither incident was reported by IS.

Warplanes from Egypt and the United States are known to have carried out raids in Libya. The UAE airforce was widely suspected of a series of airstrikes against Libya Dawn targets in September 2014.

In February last year, Egyptian aircraft attacked militants in Derna killing seven people, in response to the IS beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians on a Sirte beach.

Last November US warplanes killed IS terror leader Abu Nabil Al-Anbari in Derna. However, in June an American airstrike that obliterated a farm outside Ajdabiya apparently failed to kill the target, Algerian terrorist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

A few days later another precision raid on the IS headquarters in Sirte killed 16 people and injured dozens more. No one claimed responsibility for that strike.

[CNN] Attackers raided a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... overnight, shooting some and taking others hostage in a siege that lasted hours and ended with dozens of people dead.

An al Qaeda-linked terrorist group grabbed credit for the assault at Splendid Hotel -- a popular meeting place for Western diplomats in the capital, Ouagadougou.

The attack began Friday night and dragged on under the cover of darkness. Security forces circled the perimeter to assess the situation before they stormed in hours later.

"Everyone was panicked and was lying down on the floor. There was blood everywhere, they were shooting at people at point blank," said Yannick Sawadogo, who survived the siege.

Or as it is called in Yemen, Saturday
A US drone strike killed three suspected Al Qaeda militants in southern Yemen on Saturday, according to local tribesmen.

Believed to be the first drone strike this year in Yemen, it targeted the militants' vehicle while they were travelling in Shabwa province, the tribesmen said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. It was not immediately possible to verify their account. US officials rarely comment on the covert drone programme.

The latest strike comes amid reports of divisions and defections among Al Qaeda's rival group, the Daesh affiliate in Yemen, as a defected group leader gave an online testimony, claiming that Daesh fabricated videos to exaggerate their strength and presence.

In testimony posted online by Al Qaeda supporters, a man calling himself Antar Al Kanadi said he defected from Daesh because its leadership had become too extreme. Al Kanadi's allegations seem to match reports elsewhere of dissension within the Yemeni Daesh ranks. According to The Long War Journal, which monitors militant group activity, more than a dozen Daesh leaders and scores of their fighters have rebelled against the top leader, Abu Bilal Al Harbi, for alleged violations of Shariah law.

"Seventy members of the Daesh's Yemeni branch announced their 'defection' from the Daesh's wali in a letter published online on December 15," it said.

Al Kanadi also alleged that Daesh in Yemen released two videos of training camps in Hadramawt province and fraudulently claimed they were elsewhere in the country.

Yemen has been mired in conflict between Houthi rebels and an internationally recognised government backed by a Saudi-led military coalition. Both Daesh and Al Qaeda in Yemen have exploited Yemen's chaos and expanded their reach over the past year.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has long been described by Washington as the global network's most active and dangerous branch. The Daesh affiliate in Yemen has claimed responsibility for a series of bloody attacks including four suicide bomb attacks on mosques in Sanaa in March and the assassination of the governor of Aden province.

More than 10,000 persons were detained and kidnapped by the Houthi militias, most of them young men, journalists and social media activists and bloggers, the Arab Centre for Human Rights and Anti-Terrorism (ACHA) has revealed.

"Youth are being arrested on a daily basis and the number of those arrested in the capital Sanaa alone ranges between 100 to 200 daily," the ACHA said in a statement, adding that prisons were now crammed with detainees who were transferred after they had spent seven to 10 days in police stations.

Some of them were sent to political security prisons.

"Houthi militias are savagely torturing a number of prisoners and scanning their mobile phones, confiscating them and were using them for acts that blatantly violated all local and international laws and norms.And then, there's the downside...
"They were flagrantly flouting all values and principles," the statement noted.

The militias demanded ransom amounts ranging between $500 to $3,000 to release any prisoner who wanted to walk to freedom and those who refused to pay were being sent to even more notorious prisons.

[REUTERS] Two Swedish citizens who U.S. prosecutors said fought alongside the Islamist turban group al-Shabaab... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... in Somalia in battles to take control of the country's capital of Mogadishu were sentenced to 11 years in prison on Friday.

Ali Yasin Ahmed, 31, and Mohammed Yusuf, 33, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn, New York, in light of their guilty pleas in May to conspiring to provide material support to al-Shabaab.

Prosecutors had sought 15 years in prison for the Somali-born men, who they called "operational members of a terrorist organization."

But while Gleeson said that was correct, he said he also partly accepted their lawyers' characterizations of the men as freedom fighters who only joined al-Shabaab in order to return to war-torn Somalia to fight against Æthiopia.

"This is not a black-and-white situation," Gleeson said.

Prosecutors said Ahmed and Yusuf abandoned their homes in Sweden in 2008 to travel to Somalia to undergo military and doctrinal training with al-Shabaab.

The turban group, which seeks to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government and impose a strict version of sharia, or Islamic law, has links to al Qaeda and has carried out attacks in Kenya and Æthiopia.

After receiving training, Ahmed and Yusuf traveled to Mogadishu, where they fought in battles alongside other U.S. and European fighters who had joined al-Shabaab to take control of the city in 2009, prosecutors said.

Ahmed and Yusuf continued to train and fight with al-Shabaab, prosecutors said, and Yusuf appeared in a propaganda video filmed in Mogadishu urging people to fight on behalf of the turban group.

The men and a former British citizen, Madhi Hashi, were placed in durance vilePlease don't kill me! in August 2012 in Djibouti after illegally crossing the border from Somalia on their way to Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...to join al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000..., prosecutors said.

Their lawyers said the men were tortured while in jug in Djibouti over the next several months before being turned over U.S. authorities for prosecution, though their case had no allegations that they intended any direct harm to the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shreve Ariail said the "unconscionable" treatment they received in Djibouti factored into extending plea deals that capped their prison terms at 15 years.

The men, who before pleading guilty faced 30 years to life in prison, will be deported after they are released from prison.

GWADAR: Security forces claimed on Friday to have seized illegal arms and ammunition from a militants’ hideout in Prom area of Panjgur district.

A spokesperson for the Frontier Corps said that FC and intelligence agency personnel raided the hideout on a tip-off and seized weapons and ammunition including AK-47s and other rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, foreign currency and laptops.

No arrest could, however, be made as the militants had escaped before the raid. The FC personnel sealed the hideout after the raid.

ERBIL – Militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) radical group burned three women to death in the Iraqi northwestern city of Mosul on charges of spying for the U.S.-led coalition, local activists and eyewitnesses reported on Saturday.

The three women were arrested on Friday, and after interrogations ISIS accused them of having leaked security information to the western coalition and its allies in Iraq.

The ISIS-led Sharia Court issued a statement accusing the three women of spying for what it called ‘crusader coalition’, in reference to the U.S.-led international coalition that has been bombing ISIS’s positions across Syria and Iraq for nearly two years. The Sharia Court ordered the immediate execution of the three women by burning them to death in public.

“The brutal execution took place in front of dozens of people in central Mosul, including family members who were forced to attend the execution,” a local media activist told ARA News. “The three women were burned to death.”

More People Executed On Charges of Spying

This is not the first time that ISIS executes civilians on charges of ‘spying’.

On Thursday, ISIS militants beheaded three media activists in Syria’s northern city of Manbij after accusing them of ‘spying for crusaders’. The three activists Ahmed al-Abdullah, Ibrahim Muhammad and Sarai al-Halabi were beheaded in public in central Manbij.

Earlier on Wednesday, the extremist group executed a Syrian woman in Raqqa on similar charges.

(IraqiNews.com) Diyala – On Friday, a local source in Diyala Province announced, that a shop owner was killed in an armed attack in north-eastern Baquba.

The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, unidentified gunmen shot a supermarket owner in front of his shop in al-Asri neighbourhood in the middle of Miqdadeya District (35 km north-eastern Baquba).”

The source added, “The security forces opened an investigation into the incident and transferred the dead body to the forensic medicine department.”

(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A local source in Nineveh announced, that ISIS has executed 19 citizens from the people of Qayyarah south of Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad) for trying to “escape” from the region.

The source said in an interview for IraqiNews.co: “ISIS terrorist gangs executed 19 citizens from the people of Haj Ali village in Qayyarah (60 km south of the city of Mosul).”

The source, who asked anonymity, added: “Those innocent people were accused of trying to escape without the consent of the organization, after they tried to cross the Tigris River to Makhmour southeast of Mosul.”

(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – The federal police captain, Raed Shaker Jawdat, announced on Friday the killing of 25 ISIS elements as well as the destruction of an ISIS shelter in the province of Salahuddin.

Jawdat said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The forces of the Third Brigade had managed to kill 25 ISIS elements and destroy eight vehicles west of Samarra Island,” pointing out that, “The rockets battalion completely destructed an ISIS shelter in Makshifiyah.”

Jawdat also added, “Our heroic forces destructed a defensive position in the village of Masoud.”

(IraqiNews.com) Diyala – On Friday, Diyala police Chief Brigadier-General Jassim al-Saadi announced, that an attack carried out by the ISIS organization on a village near the borders with Salahuddin was foiled, while emphasized that the situation is under control.

Saadi said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “Armed cells belonging to the ISIS organization tried to attack a number of check points in Albu Eissa area near the borders between Diyala and Salahuddin (85 km north of Baquba).

Saadi added, “Iraqi Special Operations forces backed by al-Hashd al-Shaabi managed to foil the attack and killed some elements of the organization.”

(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Friday, a senior military official announced the liberation of Albu Khalifa and Albu Mahal areas east of Ramadi, while indicated to the death of 15 elements of the ISIS organization including suicide bombers.

The Commander of the army’s 8th Brigade Majid al- Fatlawi said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This evening, our forces managed to fully liberate the areas of Albu Khalifa and Albu Mahal east of Ramadi.”

Fatlawi added, “Fifteen elements of the ISIS organization were killed during the operation including three suicide bombers wearing explosive belts, while three armed vehicles as well as a booby-trapped military vehicle were destructed.”

(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – Media officials with the Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday the killing of the so-called ISIS Mufti in the area of al-Muhammadi, along with eight of his aides, during an aerial bombardment by the Iraqi Air Force in the province of Anbar.

The officials said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “Based on information by the Military Intelligence Directorate, the air force carried out an aerial strike resulting in the death of the so-called ISIS Mufti, Ahmed Jasim Hamadi al-Bilawi, along with eight of his aides, in the area of al-Muhammadi in Anbar Province.”

(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – The Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday, that the security forces had managed to repel an ISIS attack on Haditha District west of Ramadi.

The ministry said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “al-Jazeerah and al-Badiyah Operations Command, with support from the clans of Haditha, had managed to repel a violent attack by ISIS on the city of Haditha,” noting that, “The enemy was incurred a painful blow that caused it big losses in lives and equipment.”

The statement added, “The attack proved the strength and ability of the Iraqi army.”

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source within the police force said on Saturday, that a man had been killed in a militant attack in eastern Baghdad, while a woman was wounded by another attack in western Baghdad.

The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “Today, unidentified militants driving a motorcycle opened their fire against a man in the city of al-Sadr in eastern Baghdad, resulting in his immediate death,” adding that, “Other unidentified gunmen opened fire against a woman in the neighborhood of Hattin in western Baghdad, resulting in her injury.”

“The security forces transferred the dead to the forensic medicine department, while the woman was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the source also added.

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi police said on Saturday, that gunmen robbed 75 million dinars from a banking store west of Baghdad.

The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “Today, unidentified gunmen stormed a banking store in Yarmouk District, and opened fire on the owner of the shop, resulting in his injury,” adding that “The gunmen stole 75 million dollars from the shop.”

The source, who requested anonymous, added, “The security forces arrived in the area of the incident and transferred the injured to a nearby hospital.”

[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian media says man worked for top official for 20 years, confessed upon his arrest 2 weeks ago

One-time aide to top Paleostinian official Saeb Erekat...negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. He has been chief Paleostinian negotiator since 1995. He is currently negotiating with Israel to establish a de jure Paleostinian state... was tossed in the slammerPlease don't kill me! recently over suspicions that he spied for Israel, according to Paleostinian media reports Saturday.

The reports said the unnamed man had worked for Erekat for 20 years. He was reportedly arrested earlier this month and confessed to the charges. He is currently being held by Paleostinian security forces.

Channel 10 news reported that Erekat had confirmed the man's arrest.

Erekat is the Paleostinians' former top peace negotiator. He is seen as Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...'s closest aide and favored successor upon the end of his tenure, having displayed unwavering loyalty to the Paleostinian leader.

Late last year, Abbas appointed Erekat, 60, as secretary general of the Paleostine Liberation Organization, the same position Abbas once used as a springboard for becoming the main candidate in presidential elections following the death of Yasser Arafat in November 2004.

But Erekat is seen by some in Fatah as an outsider, and polls indicate he would do poorly in elections for president of the Paleostinian Authority

[ALMANAR.LB] Malaysian police said Saturday they had juggedDrop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! a suspected krazed killer with weapons and documents related to the ISIL group at a train station in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said in a tweet that the man was arrested Friday at a station in Jelatik, close to the center of the city.

No further details were immediately available. Police were expected to release more details later in the day.

Malaysia has been on high alert since bomb and gun attacks in neighboring Indonesia's capital city Thursday.

Security has been beefed up security in public areas and the country is taking extra measures to secure border areas fearing infiltration of bad boys.

Indonesian police potted one suspected krazed killer and arrested two more in raids across the country Friday, a day after an attack by ISIL jacket wallahs and gunnies in Jakarta that killed seven people.

[CNN] Indonesian police have placed in durance vileKeep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! 12 people in connection with Thursday's deadly attack in front of a Starbucks in central Jakarta, including one accused of having received a wire transfer from the alleged ISIS-linked operative suspected of orchestrating the assault, the country's police chief said Saturday.

Two people -- an Indonesian and a Canadian -- were killed and 26 other people were maimed Thursday as a jacket wallah and gunnies launched an attack near the coffee store, police have said.

Four attackers also are dead, following the bombing and a firefight with police.

Among the 12 suspects subsequently rounded up in various Indonesian provinces, one is suspected to have received a money transfer from the alleged criminal mastermind, Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian bad boy who authorities believed to have conducted the operation from ISIS' headquarters in Syria, national Police Chief Badrodin Haiti said.

[WSJ] Concerns that Islamic State militants in the Middle East are taking a direct hand in organizing terrorist attacks in Asia escalated Saturday after Malaysian police said they had arrested four suspects, one of whom was planning a suicide attack in the country. You can wire $500 or a thousand anywhere in the world without much hindrance. Therefore IS's reach is world-wide.

KOBANE – Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) clashed with militants of the Islamic State in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah on Saturday.

At least three ISIS militants were killed and four others were arrested by the Kurdish forces near the Saddiq square in western Hasakah, the YPG leadership confirmed in a statement.

“The terrorists (of ISIS) tried to infiltrate into our (YPG) security center near Saddiq square on Saturday. However, our units repelled the attack and killed three terrorists,” the Kurdish military leadership said.

“Furthermore, our units captured four ISIS terrorists who were injured in the clashes,” it added.

This comes as ISIS militants strive to regain positions it lost earlier to the Kurdish forces in Hasakah province.

Also on Saturday, fierce clashes took place between the Kurdish forces and militants of al-Qaeda branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, in Aleppo.

The YPG fighters attacked with mortar shells a checkpoint for Nusra militants outside the Shekh Maqsoud district in Aleppo.

“Subsequent to the YPG-led attack, clashes broke out between the Kurdish units and al-Qaeda-affiliated militants of Nusra Front near Jandul roundabout in Shuqaif neighborhood,” a YPG spokesman told ARA News in Aleppo.

“At least six Nusra terrorists were killed and two others wounded,” the spokesman said, adding that three Kurdish fighters were injured in the same clashes on Saturday.

DAMASCUS – The extremist group of Islamic State (ISIS) killed dozens of people in Syria’s eastern province of Deir ez-Zor after breaking into regime-held neighborhoods, local sources reported on Saturday.

The radical group stormed the regime-held neighborhoods of Ayash and Begayliya in Deir ez-Zor, and beheaded more than 150 people, including Syrian army soldiers and their families.

“The militants broke into the regime-held neighborhoods of Ayash and Begayliya, and attacked people in their homes,” Helwani said. “Their main target was the pro-regime soldiers and their families.”

Most of the city of Deir ez-Zor and its countryside is under ISIS control. However, pro-regime army troops still hold control of several neighborhoods in the city beside a military airport in Deir ez-Zor suburb.

Speaking to ARA News, a civil rights activist reported that ISIS militants first targeted Ayash and Begayliya with several car bomb attacks, before storming the two neighborhoods.

“Dozens of women and children were brutally beheaded,” said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “ISIS is punishing families of pro-regime soldiers after the group lost the battle for Deir ez-Zor’s military airport.”

The province of Deir ez-Zor is deemed strategic for ISIS as it links the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa with Iraqi territory controlled by the radical group.

“Dead bodies of 15 civilians were pulled from the rubble,” the source reported. “23 others were wounded in the airstrikes, some of them suffer serious injuries.”

In the meantime, a medical source in the Muwasat hospital in Raqqa said that 20 wounded people arrived to the hospital for treatment, “some of them lost their legs and others lost arms in the strikes”.

“The hospital suffers a shortage in equipment and medical staff. More victims are expected to be still stranded under the ruins of the destroyed buildings,” the source told ARA News.

ISIS militants prevent the movement of civilians to outside Raqqa, “which makes transferring the wounded to medical centers outside the province impossible,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

[Iran Press TV] The Syrian army, backed by fighters from allied popular forces, has launched a massive operation to retake the strategic town of Aqrab in the central province of Homs from Takfiri...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... turbans.

The Syrian forces on Saturday conducted the operation to gain control of the Takfiri turbans' stronghold of Aqrab in northwestern Homs, 12 hours after the government troops captured the village of Jarisah, which is located along the northern border of the al-Rastan Lake.

This comes as a fresh batch of recruits has been deployed to the eastern countryside of Aleppo Province to help protect the roads and villages in order for the Syrian troops to progress further.

Meanwhile,...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard... Arab media said some 20 turbans from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front and Ahrar al-Sham...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... were killed in Syrian Arclight airstrikes in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Separately, the Syrian army seized control of several regions in the coastal province of Latakia after fierce festivities with turbans that left scores of the bully boyz dead.

The Syrian army and popular forces took control of the villages of al-Koum al-Tahtani, al-Koum al-Fouqani, al-Mreij, Katef al-Khabi, al-Kart al-Fouqani and al-Kart al-Tahtani as well as a number of strategic hills in the province.

The Syrian troops also resumed their mop-up operations in the provinces of Damascus, Dara'a, Sweida, and Deir Ezzur.

[Iran Press TV] The United Nations...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... (UN) says about 20 Syrians died of starvation last year in the city of Deir Ezzor, where Daesh [Islamic State]gunnies have imposed a siege.

"Severe cases of malnutrition are reported by health personnel particularly amongst children with unverified reports of 15 - 20 people dying from starvation in 2015 (of whom four were children)," the UN said on Saturday.

The UN also warned that 200,000 residents in the city face a severe food shortage and sharply deteriorating conditions.

The report also said the city's residents have been living with no electricity for more than 10 months, adding that they have access to a water supply for only three hours a week.

"All schools are functioning in the city however absenteeism amongst children is common as children suffer from frequent fainting due to malnutrition," it added.
The UN said the Syrian government airlifted an amount of basic commodities, including food, last Monday. Russia also said on Friday it had dropped 22 tonnes of aid to the besieged part of the city.

The UN report added that none of the health centers are functioning and there have been reports of cases of Leishmaniasis and Typhoid.

[ALMANAR.LB] The army on Saturday advanced in many areas of Syrian cities, establishing full control over new strategic areas and hills in Lattakia northern countryside.

Lattakia

Army units, in cooperation with the popular defense groups, established control over the hills overlooking al-Sarraf village in the northern countryside of Lattakia, a military source announced on Saturday.

The Points 489, 465 and 547 that overlook al-Durreh axis and al-Sarraf crossing also came under the army's control.

The source told SANA that the army units later combed the areas and dismantled bombs planted by the terrorist organizations.

Many of the bad boyz were potted during the army operations, which the source said were "intensive", while others bravely ran away.

Later on the day, an army unit and the popular defense groups established control over the villages of al-Mreij, al-Kart al-Fouqani and al-Kart al-Tahtani and a number of strategic hills in the same countryside.

Deir Ezzor

Field sources in the eastern Deir Ezzor province told SANA that a unit of the army destroyed an armored vehicle filled with huge quantities of explosives for ISIL before reaching one of the military points in the surrounding of Ayash village in the province's western countryside.

Meanwhile,...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... another army unit confronted a number of ISIL gunnies who have infiltrated into al-Baghiliah village, inflicting them heavy losses and killed many of them.

Daraa

The army carried out a special operation against gunnies of al-Nusra...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front (Qaeda branch in the Levant), destroying their gatherings to the south of Busra square and in al-Abassiya and al-Karck in Daraa al-Mahata.

Meanwhile,...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... terrorist organizations have acknowledged on their websites the killing of a number of terrorists, among them Muhanad Jamal al-Hussein.

Suwaida

An army unit targeted positions of ISIL gunnies in the northeastern countryside of the southern Suwaida province.

A number of ISIL centers and depots containing amounts of weapons and ammunition were destroyed in Ashayhib village.

Aleppo

The Syrian army and allies managed on Saturday to regain control over al-Ajozeyye in Aleppo eastern countryside.

The terrorist groups launched an artillery attack on the besieged town of al-Foaa in Idleb countryside, killing one local.

[WASHINGTONPOST] Iran reentered the global economy Saturday, as years of crippling international sanctions were lifted in exchange for the verified disabling of much of its nuclear infrastructure.

For Iran, implementation of the landmark deal it finalized with six world powers last summer means immediate access to more than $50 billion in long-frozen assets, and freedom to sell its oil and purchase goods in the international marketplace. Tehran has hailed the deal as vindication of its power and influence in the world.

"Today marks the start of a safer world," said Secretary of State John F. Kerry. "We understand this marker alone will not wipe away all the concerns the world has rightly expressed about Iran's policies in the region. But we also know there isn't a challenge in the entire region that wouldn't become much more complicated, much worse, if Iran had a nuclear weapon."

[AlAhram] The United States and its allies targeted Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) group with 18 strikes in Iraq and 11 in Syria on Friday, the US military said.

Eight of the strikes in Iraq hit ISIS tactical units and five command and control nodes near djinn-infested Mosul... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn..., a statement issues on Saturday said.

In Syria, five of the strikes were near Mar'a and hit ISIS tactical units.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.